Wildlife Photography across the Water: Bonus Images

Tuesday 22 March 2011

Bonus Images

When ever i go away on a trip i always wonder what will be the unexpected or bonus images, We all have expectations of what we want to get, In Japan i expected Cranes, Eagles both Stellers and White Tailed and of course the Snow Monkeys which we did get in abundance, We thought that fox would be easy-they weren't and it was the last day and just about the last shots that added fox to the list, The real bonus i guess was the Blakiston's fish owl-biggest and one of the rarest owls in the world, We nearly missed out on it as you could not use flashguns this year and the only lights were horrible colour casting spot lights and it was kinda expensive but we had come a long way and if it meant just to see one then that was good enough, The other bonus images came in the way of wildfowl, Not only did we see some very nice ducks but managed to get full frame images of them in good light, I like to observe behaviour and things like the crest going down on a goldeneye normally means its about to dive and i had some fun shooting the bird as it dove down just getting its tail out of the water
like this

I have tried to get decent Goldeneye images for years, The best i managed was in Switzerland and although the images were OK thats all they were, In Japan we not only managed excellent close ups but also ducks swimming in mini ice packs and in good light which is important for birds with iridescent feathers, Times like this do not come often, In Japan it was basically just a few hours when the ice in the harbour had broken up so you have to be an opportunist and make the most of the situation which i think we did.

Goldeneye

Harlequin Duck (juv)

Scaup

Pin Tail

Fox

Now take a look at these 2 images taken a second a part of a Goldeneye Drake

Notice the eye, Certain ducks have a 'floating iris' which was look strange and or blurry even after processing, After you have sharpened the image i would then draw around the eye with the quick selection tool in photoshop and add some extra sharpening just to the eye, It can make the world of difference

Dave

1 comment:

Kah-Wai Lin22 March 2011 at 16:37
Lovely shot! I like goldeneye!
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Bio's

David Courtenay, a self taught wildlife and nature photographer, has been capturing images for over 30 years. He has had a passion for wildlife since early childhood and remembers being glued to the television whenever Survival, Wildlife on One and other natural history documentaries were shown. In the 2006 he swapped his established career for the life of a wildlife photographer, such a move demands a measure of uncompromising passion and commitment.

David has travelled extensively throughout Europe as well as spending more than 7 months in India working with local guides and trackers in search of Bengal Tiger, Asian One horned Rhino and Asian Elephant. He has also photographed Wildlife in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, Africa, Canada and America. Working closely with Conservation companies he tries to raise funds to help Wildlife that has been put on the endangered list by poaching and habitation loss

Martin Dyer has had a passion for avian wildlife since childhood, particularly raptors. Photography was also another keen interest and it was with the specific availability and control of the whole process that digital offers that Martin was then able to combine the two in 2003. Based in the UK, Martin is a regular visitor to Scotland, specifically the Isle of Mull to watch the Eagles resident there. Other trips to Europe and around the UK are usually part of Martin’s agenda in a typical year.

However, as a firm believer on making the most of the local patch, Martin has spent a lot of time and hard work creating a wildlife garden which is reaping the rewards with many new species and varieties of wildlife. A keen member of a number of wildlife photographic groups, Martin is keen to expand his portfolio into other areas of wildlife, and has already established a wide portfolio of images of fungi.